Wood stoves, particularly log-burning stoves of antique and current design, are often quite unsatisfactory for the loading and burning of heavy logs. Such stoves often accommodate only logs of small or less than economical size, and such stoves, even if large enough to accept heavy, full-length logs, often do not provide provisions for the easy loading and inserting of the logs into the combustion chamber of the stove.
In my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 789,517, filed Apr. 21, 1977 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,104), there is described an improved log-burning stove wherein a log-loading door to the stove is provided to permit the easy introduction of logs into the combustion chamber of the stove. The stove door is adapted to move between a closed, upright, sealed position and an open, supporting position extending generally laterally from the lower portion of the combustion-chamber opening. The stove door contains thereon a plurality of spaced-apart, freely rotatable rollers, with each roller disposed for rotation on a fixed axis element, with the ends of the axis element supported on the interior of the door and with the rollers disposed on a plane generally parallel to the door and the axis of the rollers generally perpendicular to the entrance of the combustion chamber when the door is placed in the open position. When the stove door is in the fully open position, a log, placed on the plurality of rollers, is easily moved parallel to the entrance of the stove and to a position adjacent to the combustion-chamber entrance, and, thereafter, by raising the door from the opened to the closed position, the logs so positioned are moved through the log-burning-stove entrance and into the combustion chamber.
The present invention is directed to a further improvement of the log-burning stove with the door as described and claimed in my parent application.